By Nicholas Wyman. In his weekly address, Vice President Joe Biden again laid out his and the president's plan to make two years of community college free for students. The proposal for free community college tuition has generated a great deal of conversation around this important topic. Whether or not the plan is instituted at the federal or state level, one thing is clear: community colleges can, and will, play a crucial role in shaping an educated, well-paid workforce with the skills to meet the shifting demands of the 21st century. Read more...

By Jamie Merisotis. As postsecondary skills have become essential to success for millions of Americans, few would argue that our nation has all of the talent it needs to prosper. New data reveal that our country risks falling behind in a global race -- the competition for innovation and, above all else, talent -- unless actions are taken now to significantly increase postsecondary attainment. Read more...

By Joshua Kim. Comments on the IHE stories about the ASU/edX partnership appear to be running strongly to the critical. I’d like to make a start at enumerating our IHE community’s concerns, and to then offer some counterarguments. Read more...

By Joshua Kim. Will we figure out a way to improve quality and expand access while reducing costs? Will we be able to retain our most cherished higher ed values and practices, while also evolving and improving? Will we find a way to improve postsecondary productivity without sacrificing our most cherished values? Will we be wise enough to use technology appropriately and modestly? Will we understand that real value of education is in the relationship between the educator and the learner, and that relationship can never be scaled. Read more...

By Joshua Kim. Conversation #1 - Open Education:
Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free is in large part a book about why digital content is so often locked, and who these locks benefit.  Let’s take the case of Amazon, Kindle books, and the Kindle e-reader.  When I buy a Kindle book I forfeit the right to transfer that book to another platform. Read more...

By Joshua Kim. You may have heard about the The End of Power as the first book in Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook book club.  Don’t let this development dissuade you from reading this book.  Whatever you think about Facebook, Zuckerberg, or book clubs - The End of Power is worth your time and attention. Read more...

By Joshua Kim. How many campus technology projects have you been involved in that have gone horribly wrong?  Do you shudder at the words: ERP, SIS, or CMS?  My guess is that your worst campus technology disaster was a resounding success in comparison to the initial rollout of healthcare.gov. Read more...

By Joshua Kim. Dear everybody that sent me e-mail from 4/11 to 4/19. I was “Out of Office”.
If you e-mailed me between 4/11 and 4/19, however, you would not have known I was “Out of Office." Why? For some reason my Office 365 settings refused to stick. My bet is user error. Read more...